A．A person who sends smuggling goods for a syndicate is……
TEXT B
Although the top men in
smuggling business must work together, most of a syndicate’s small fry,
especially the mules, know only their immediate contacts. If caught, there is
little they can give away. A mule probably will not even know the name of the
person, who gives him his instructions, nor how to get in touch with him.
Usually he even does not know the person to whom he has to make delivery. He
will be told just to sit tight in a certain hotel or bar until someone contacts
him. In this way if he is blown, coming through airport customs, he cannot
unwittingly lead agents to the next link in the chain. All the persons at the
receiving end do is to hang around the airport among the waiting crowd, and see
that the mule comes through safely. If he does not, he is dimply written off as
a loss. To make identification of mules easier, several syndicates have devised
their own "club ties" so that a mule wearing one can immediately be picked
out.
Mules often receive careful training before embarking on
their first journey. One Beirut organization, for example, uses a room with
three airline seats in it. There the trainee mules sit for hours on end wearing
weighted smuggling vests beneath their clothes, so that they become accustomed
to standing up after a long flight in a natural way, and without revealing what
they are carrying. An outfit in Brussels maintained a comfortable apartment
where the mules could relax and get a firm grip on themselves on the night
before their first journey; they were helped to dress before setting out for the
airport in the morning. More often than not a courier will not know precisely
where he is going or what flight number is until he is actually handed his
tickets at the airport. This prevents the careless boast in some bar or to a
girl friend the night before.
Mules occasionally run off with
the goods to keep the profit themselves. As insurance against this, a syndicate
often sends a high-up on the same plane to keep a wary eye on couriers,
particularly new ones. Even then things can go badly wrong. One international
currency smuggler who was having trouble getting money out of Britain was
offered help by a group of men who said they were in a position to "fix
thing"—for a fee of course. Foolishly, the smuggler agreed to accept their help.
When he got to London’s Heathrow Airport, he handed over to one of the men a
black suitcase containing nearly ＄90,000 in cash, destined for Frankfurt. Just
to keep an eye on things, the smuggler went along on the same plane. When they
landed at Frankfurt he was handed back his suitcase. He beat a straight path to
the men’s toilet, opened the case, and found only old clothes. The courier had
switched suitcase en route, but the smuggler could hardly run to the police and
complain that "the man who was smuggling money out of England for me has stolen
it."
What is a "mule"
A．A person who sends smuggling goods for a syndicate is called mule.
B．A person in charge of smuggling goods is called mule.
C．A person who makes delivery for a syndicate is called mule.
D．A person who receives instructions from a smuggler is called mule.
